The Kano state government on Monday said the footage showing underage persons voting reportedly during the Kano local government polls, was recorded during the March 30, 2015 general elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
It said the exercise depicting the illegality was never conducted by the state electoral body, KANSIEC.
In the aftermath of the public outcry that greeted the footage, INEC had quickly absolved itself saying its voters’ register which should have been used for the Kano polls did not contain underage voters.
However, the state Commissioner of Information, Muhammad Garba, is not impressed by INEC’s defence. He offered another explanation.
“What you have seen in the video clip showing underage kids voting, did not happen now. It was recorded during the last 30 March 2015 elections,” he said.
Mr. Garba, who was furious about the clips, said Monday that some “mischievous persons were behind the spreading of the clips but were missing out in the whole game because what was therein the video happened in 2015.”
The March 30, 2015 general election held across the country for the offices of the president and National Assembly members.
The latest government’s stand comes barely 24 hours after the state electoral body, KANSIEC, said it is ready for the INEC investigation into the matter.
The KANSEIC chairman, Ibrahim Sheka, had earlier dismissed the clip.
He said the clip was released 48 hours after the conduct of their local government elections, “something that clearly shows a disconnect between our local government elections and the video.”
